Pickles to tackle barriers to street parties and fetes with good practice guidance

Eric Pickles has vowed to tackle the “red tape tombola” that makes street parties and fetes difficult for local communities to organise.

The Communities Secretary said he is working across government to agree a consistent approach for councils to follow, which will lead to the publication of good practice guidance.

This will see more upfront transparency on what organisers need, such as public liability insurance, road closure notices or health and safety assessments.

The Department for Communities and Local Government claimed that “extortionate, inconsistent costs and paperwork” for road closures, risk assessments and temporary event notices act as barriers to community events. Councils charge different fees and use a number of conflicting regulations, it said.

The DCLG cited cases where local communities had to pay for five separate licences, pay up to £5,000 for a temporary road closure and obtain £2m insurance for an outdoor event.

Eric Pickles said: “Summer fetes and street parties are a great British tradition that we risk losing to overbearing bureaucracy. When it comes to putting on street parties, it’s a red tape tombola for organisers depending on which council is processing their application.

“Of course we want people to be safe and sound but common sense has to prevail. People are being turned off getting involved due to a merry-go-round of forms, rules that differ from one council to the next, time and expense.”